If you’ve never actually seen a hydroponics system, a quick glance at some of the product images might make you believe that the systems are quite small. Let me tell you this now though: the images are very deceptive – most systems are actually quite impressive in size and can hold plenty of plants!

The first time I saw a hydroponic system I was genuinely shocked at the size. I was eager to give hydroponics a try, but was reluctant to buy a system that took up practically half of the small house I was renting at the time! If you are short of space – or you simply aren’t looking to grow very much – then you probably have some of these concerns yourself.

Thankfully, this is less of a problem these days, as hydroponic systems are much more accessible to the everyday gardening enthusiasts. As a result, there have been a number of mainstream products released by the big manufacturers who have realize that not everybody has unlimited amounts of space at home.

These small systems look incredibly slick (giving them an almost decorative appeal too); they come with practically the same number of features as the larger products in the range; and, they also come in at a fraction of the price! This makes them perfect for those of you with less space, and for those of you who want an economical first system.

So, if you are looking for the best small hydroponic systems available on the market today, look no further.

Miracle-Gro Aerogarden 3

If you’ve spent any amount of time on this site, you’ll already know that I’m a huge fan of the Miracle-Gro Aerogarden range. In my opinion, they’re the best products on the market today, and it seems others agree with me: it’s also the best-selling range of hydroponic systems.

If you are looking for a small system, you can’t go wrong with the Aerogarden 3. The “3” refers to the number of pods in the model, making this the smallest product in the Aerogarden range. They look simply fantastic, and this product comes in six different color variations, including a rather quirky “ladybug” and “bumble-bee.” They are real attention grabbers and will definitely turn heads when placed on a desk or table.

It’s not just the looks that I love about the Aerogarden though: this little product comes with the same features as its big brother (and the best selling system) the Aerogarden 7. It’s simple to set up – just click the pieces together – and there are thirty different lighting and watering schedules programmes, allowing you to grow a range of different plants.

With dimensions of 11″ by 10″ it takes up hardly any room and I can’t recommend it enough. A fantastic price, but even better value.

Mr. Stacky Hydroponics Tower

The Mr. Stacky range are fantastic for those of you who want to grow a lot but lack the space to do so. Rather than achieving lots of grow-space by having large surface area, Mr. Stacky plants upwards! That’s right, instead of placing plants next to each other, they are planted on top of each other.

This creates a fantastic – and unique – looking system. No other model can house the same number of plants in such a small area of your house, greenhouse or garden, and that really is the strength of this product. It’s big among “vertical gardening” enthusiasts.

However, don’t let the appearance make you think that this is some sort of gimmick: this really isn’t the case. It’s a fantastic system in its own right, and it actually works really effectively to create impressive growth rates. It is also very popular amongst those looking to set up an aquaponics system, which extends this its appeal beyond just the beginners and well into intermediate grower territory! If you are new to hydroponics, this is great news as it will ensure you don’t “outgrow” your system too quickly.

Power Grow Deep Water Culture System

Because the plants are not held separately from the nutrient reservoir, only one tank is needed, making them much cheaper than most other systems. Most DWCs will have a network of buckets (commonly between 4 and 8) that all run from the same pump. If you add or remove buckets this will have no impact on the efficiency of the others. This is great news for those of you with less space available: you can just set your system up with a single bucket!

In my opinion, Power Grow produce the best DWC systems. They sell their kits with different quantities of buckets included, going down to the minimum of one. Not only are these systems incredibly simple to set up and run, the single bucket systems are also ridiculously inexpensive – the current price is just $33! The best thing about this system is that if in the future you find that you have more space available, you can begin to add additional buckets, without needing a new pump.